Sinquefield
In Acts 16, the Apostle Paul received a vision from the Lord that was the beginning of a movement of God that literally changed the world. In verses 9-10 of that chapter, we read: “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.”
In some ways, I feel like the man from Macedonia. We desperately need the help of our partner churches in sharing the gospel, strengthening our local churches, and preparing to start new churches in the season ahead. The Blue Oval City initiative for Tennessee Baptists is an opportunity of a lifetime.
There are an estimated 90,000 people moving to West Tennessee over the next three to five years and we need to be ready to reach them with the Good News of Jesus. Those numbers are based on comparisons and size differences with the Spring Hill plant.
The name “Blue Oval City” refers to the massive Ford Plant that is currently under construction in Haywood County near exit 42 on I-40. An accompanying South Korean battery plant is located nearby, also under construction. By next month, there will be over 3,000 construction workers on the field and many of them are living in RV parks, hotel rooms and renting space from local farmers.
Many of the local churches are beginning to form relationships with the workers and finding opportunities to minister to this diverse group in creative ways. Some of our churches have already benefited from new members and others visiting their services on Sunday.
When we say “massive Ford plant” — that is not an exaggeration. This Blue Oval site will be the largest automobile production facility in the nation. It covers a whopping 4,100 acres and will employ 6,000-8,000 workers producing the new all-electric F-150 Ford Lightening Truck. Ford is investing $5.6 billion into this project.
It is already changing the landscape of this rural part of West Tennessee as new roads and infrastructure is being developed along with new neighborhoods being projected as families will be moving to the area for work.
More than 50 partner churches are already part of the Blue Oval City Coalition. We are hosting another information meeting on Wed., Feb. 22 (10-11:30 a.m.), at Brownsville Baptist Church.
During that meeting, we will hear stories of how churches are engaging with workers, discover strategies for strengthening local churches and hear exciting news about 40 new church plants that are needed over the next 10 years.
Our strategies are simple. Prayer is the primary need for now. Our TBMB communications team is developing a virtual “prayer drive” video that will guide people through the strategic areas and churches as they pray. Another strategy is partnership — to assist with local churches, many of them being small and rural, as they need help in preparing for the harvest that is coming. Planting new churches is also key.
Our TBMB church planting team is working with key churches that will serve as “mother churches” for these new plants. We are prayerfully seeking and recruiting church planters that are called to this mission opportunity. There is also a need for property acquisition. We are in communication with a few churches and landowners about the possibility of acquiring land for these new church plants.
These are exciting days for our work together as Tennessee Baptists. It is, in fact, a Golden Opportunity for sharing the gospel, strengthening our churches, and starting new churches in West Tennessee. Come on over to Macedonia and help us! B&R
